Mix & In Conversation: Cheggy

Cheggy, one of the loveliest Scots out there, curates the 17th mix in the Halcyon Wax series fusing elements from all across the spectrum, with gritty rock riffs, trancey acidic melodies and otherworldly synths - all driven by a somewhat magical, Italo quality.

As co-creator of both Milkit and Chaos in the Cosmos, Cheggy balances his times between running the blog and label Milkit and the more aesthetic project Chaos in the Cosmos. The latter focuses on art and designing trippy clothing lines which you can find on Everpress, whilst the former centres around music with Milkit's charity EP dropping on the 5th June in aid of the NHS.

To find out what Cheggy's all about lock into the sounds of the 'Italo Iglue' mix here & continue reading for more:

Hey Cheggy, lovely to chat with you :) Firstly just a bit of background behind your involvement with electronic music. Inverness is not typically what pops into your mind when people think about underground music. What initially got you into the scene?

Hey, haha i know what you mean, which is a shame because there are in fact so many talented people in the city and surrounding area. What really kick started things for me was discovering a local night called hypnotic groove. I fell in love with the tunes, the people behind it and the community that formed around the brand. From there I wanted to launch my own night and have my own flavour. I think the biggest fuel for that was related to anxiety. I was going through a rough patch which in hindsight I couldn't really understand at the time, however when I went along to these nights i felt so comfortable, free and just got lost in the boogie. Milkit was then formed by myself and some other like minded friends at the time.

How would you describe your sound and what artists have influenced you in the construction of it?

Well that is a tricky one as i appreciate and love all kinds of sounds and genres. I did think at one point my main love was for Italo / Cosmic boogie vibes which still stands, but after diving into the realms of breaks, electro, acid and old skool rave, i like to combine the lot and just have a big cocktail of goodies plucked from a variety of genres from way back all the way up to releases that are coming out today. My biggest influences are DJs & Producers such as Tech Support, REES, Hypnotic Groove, FairsFair, 1-800 Girls, David Vunk, Marlon Hoffstadt and the other Milkit boys, Dean Logan & Ali Scott.

You are super busy and run both Milkit and Chaos in the Cosmos. Can you tell me about how these projects differ, how long have you been running these projects, and what inspired you to create the blog?

Sure, Milkit was the first project that started, things have been a bit of a blur to be honest but i feel like things started around 3 years ago. Starting off with the mix series that then led us to start putting on our events and for sure was the driving force behind me wanting to focus on the mixing side of things more.

Chaos however started around 1 year ago. I wanted to keep things fresh and through something different into the mix. Something I can continue to stay productive and creative with but something different to Milkit and of its own.

My friend Sandy and myself run chaos, where we run limited run clothing, via Everpress at the moment (highly recommend). We also share artwork from artists we like, and network with a whole range of different types of creatives. We have also launched the mix series side of things for chaos which consists of mixes that represent our vibe which is house, world, jazz, funk, soul, disco and the rest. We also were in the works of curating our very first art exhibition before the lockdown got put into place so we hope to continue to entertain the idea and get the ball rolling.

The lockdown has been super good for us when it comes to thinking and planning, So expect many more clothing, mixes, live streams, podcasts and art exhibitions to come in the future. I'd say what makes Milkit and chaos different is that Milkit’s core is the music. Be that expressed through events, mix series or label. Chaos however is more driven by our t-shirts, collaboration with designers and art that we like or create ourselves. The moral of the 2 however is to create communities of like minded people to enjoy, and appreciate music and art and each other. Which I think no more than ever is an essential aspect of life and has personally been a big factor for my own well being, and i hope it has been for many other people too.

As for the blog I wanted to launch a side of Milkit where people can dive into our own flavour a little more by getting to know more about the artists that we love. Things were a bit all over the place at the start as like anything I do I just wing it and try to grow by learning from my mistakes. When our main writer Jamie Ahmed aka Jahmed, got involved however things started to take off on the blog front. I get so excited when he messages me saying he'll be sending over his latest interview soon as I enjoy reading his interviews an awful lot. He steers away from your generic and pretentious questions and dives into more personal ones. I personally found his way of writing inspiring and the feedback has also been great from many people as well.

You also mentioned there was a new charity EP dropping soon on Milkit, can you tell us some more about that?

Yeah so I'm really looking forward to this release as we are donating 100% of the profits towards the dreamy NHS. The best thing about launching the label side of things is getting to know producers from all over, getting to know their sound more, watching them grow but music aside getting to know them as people, which i think sometimes can be a difficult thing, due to inflated egos and such. Luckily everyone that I have chatted, connected and released music with, so far have been the most down to earth people and i'm forever grateful to network, get to know and even become friends with. For this release we have Van damn, Easy Peelers, Gareth McA, Toby Williams, Et Al & Temple Sniper all featuring on the EP and i can confidently say that each artist are ones to be following and keeping an eye on for sure. Our NHS VA is due out on June 5 on Bandcamp only.

Taking things to the mix side of things...What’s your favourite track in the mix you’ve done for us and what was your process of putting it together?

That's a tough one as i'm really into this sound atm, it was my love at the start before diving into other realms which i suppose that's what your music taste is all about, exploration, appreciation and evolution. But picking one it has to be…..Kendal - Disturbo! The reason for this first of all is that the track combines both my love for breaks, cosmic synthy italo sounds, with a hint of old skool piano rave. Another reason is that i'm a huge fan of kendal after coming across his music on one of my favourite labels that is David Vunks...Moustache Records. As for the process for this mix well to be honest i just winged it, hit record, sipped on some coffee and had some fun playing music. There are some off bits as per in this mix but I have come to the point now where I flung being a perfectionist out the window. I feel like that's what milkit is about also. Weird, wonky and rough around the edges. From my own experience if someone sends me a mix for me to checkout either for the mix series or to get a slot at our parties, I focus on the music and if there's some off bits it just shows to me that they're human and not hitting that satanic sync button. It's all about le music at the end of the day.

Probably a question we can't avoid, how are you keeping yourself busy during the lockdown period?

So not much has changed in regards to my routine since the lockdown started to be honest, i will say i'm probably more productive though. I've been spending a lot of time hunting for new tunes, I’ve been getting a lot of mixing done, and have also been spending time putting together our forthcoming EP along with uploading mixes to the series and getting stuck into my other brand chaos.

Top recommendations of artists you are listening to at the moment?

As mentioned above, Marlon Hoffstadt, REES, 1-800 Girls, David Vunk but also the likes of Swales, T E S T P R E S S & Senor Chugger. Label wise has to be Paradiso Records, Moustache records, bordello A Parigi & more recently, Midnight People & Midnight Themes

Thanks for chatting with us! Finally what can we expect from you in the future?

So plans at the moment are to continue to put out new releases on the label, we are in works of putting together a special event for when the lockdown is lifted, and we will also be launching the livestreams for chaos and will be releasing our newest collection of Tees in time to come.

For more from Cheggy:

Chaos in the Cosmos: https://www.facebook.com/chaosinthecosmos/

Milkit: https://www.facebook.com/milkitsounds/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheggymusic/